Mr. Magoo, a cartoon regular of early TV, was notorious for his hazardous driving. He was a retiree, befuddled and extremely nearsighted, yet he continued to drive despite these obvious failings. In the opening sequence to his long-running show, he has run-ins with a railroad train, a haystack and several barn animals, a roller coaster, a fire hydrant, a mud hole, and a high voltage line — all while honking his horn and shouting, “Road hog!”

Looking back, it seems like a cruel stereotype of the elderly, especially elderly drivers. But like all stereotypes, the Mr. Magoo caricature had a bit of truth to it. The fact is that, mile for mile, older drivers do have higher crash rates than all other drivers, other than teenagers. It’s also true that even normal aging is accompanied by declines in vision, cognitive sharpness, and physical ability. Isn’t it logical that this bad driving would result from these deficits of aging, as the Mr. Magoo stereotype suggests?